Death of the author feels like such a white take tbh
“it doesn’t matter that this author was blatantly and violently racist and homophobic because the author is dead uwu”
Honestly, death of the author is a concept that is used incorrectly quite a bit. It’s meant to mean “It doesn’t matter if the author had [x] intentions because the text itself and the reader’s interpretation of it matter more than what the author intends.”
So, if an author is not intending to be racist or homophobic, death of the author means their work can still be racist and homophobic if that is what the text portrays to the readers. Whether the author meant it or not.
The intent of the author, no matter how benign, does not change what is on the page. And if the page is full of bias and prejudice, then it’s biased and prejudiced.






















